Matt Brabham Wins Race 1 At Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 8, 2017) – Matt Brabham of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia managed to avoid the carnage in the first half of the race to work his way past competitor after competitor and hold off a late charge by fellow Australian Paul Morris to earn back to back SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks victories of the young 2017 World Championship.

Friday’s Fast qualifier did not miss a beat on Saturday starting from the last position after the full field inversion.

The SafeCraft Safety Equipment entry worked his way to the front of the field following Norwell, Queensland, Australia driver Paul Morris driving the LIVE backed entry. By the fourth lap the only two Australians in the field were leading 10 other hungry American drivers.

Brabham would make several attempts at passing Morris as the two would put on a incredible driving exhibition for the thousands of fans whom lined the fences all around the 11-turn 1.968 mile temporary street circuit along the picturesque Pacific Ocean. Brabham would make a daring pass inside of Morris at beginning of Lap-7 to grab the lead.

However, the red flag would fly over the track on mid way thru Lap-7, as Burbank, California driver Erik Davis in the Always Evolving truck would bicycle his truck in his corner tipping it over on the side, and make heavy contact with the outside wall. The stoppage of the race would allow Morris to regain his composure, and make another attempt at the lead of Brabham on the restart.

Drafting Brabham down the long front straightaway Morris was able to slingshot past the young Brabham at the last second to grab the lead back. Racing clean as they can in SST racing Brabham would stay right in the tire tracks of Morris for the next 4 corners until he was able to set him back up for a last lap pass for the win.

Brabham would go on to capture back-to-back SST wins of the young 2017 SST World Championship season. Consistency wins championships and Morris would go on to capture his fourth podium finish of the season.

Making his return to the Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2014 Gavin Harlien of Mesa, Arizona driving the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil truck would look to backup his previous successful finish. Starting in the seventh position Harlien would remain with the lead pack the entire race even contesting Brabham for the second position on Lap-6. Harlien would survive a real test the last three laps of the 9-lap race as Robby Gordon would be right on his bumper stalking every move to get by. Harlien would hold off one of the greats of SST racing to record his first ever SST podium.

Orange, California driver Robby Gordon sporting the Toyo Tires/ KMC Wheels livery this weekend would hang back in the pack waiting for things to sort out avoiding all of the carnage the first half of the race. After the competition caution Gordon would continue to pick off truck after truck through the field to ultimately finish in the fourth position after contesting Harlien multiple times for the third spot.

Jeff Hoffman of Phoenix, Arizona would show strong signs of competing for a podium early in the event keeping up with the quick pace of leaders hitting all his braking points and learning to conserve his equipment in only his sixth asphalt race ever. The young Hoffman would avoid contact with the other competitors and go on to finish the event in the fifth position.

Arie Luyendyk Jr. of Scottsdale, Arizona driving the LIVE/ United Fiber & Data truck would encounter a flat tire early in the first half of the event and would drop back in the field after a quick visit to hot pit area to change it. After the competition caution would re-group the field back up Luyendyk would battle through the hornets nest of trucks to finish in the sixth place.

Making his first ever Stadium SUPER Trucks start Myles Cheek of Anaheim, California would drive a smart and conservative race learning his braking points and staying out of trouble to finish the CMI Precision Machining truck in the seventh spot.

Davey Hamilton Jr. of Indianapolis, Indiana racing in his second straight SST event in the Always Evolving truck would run up front for a small portion of the event leading two laps before the missing his mark in the braking zone and loosing multiple positions to settle back mid-pack battling hard in the chaos. Hamilton would go on to finish respectively in the eighth position.

SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires driver P.J. Jones of Scottsdale, Arizona would go on to finish the nine-lap event in the ninth position after late contact with Arie Luyendyk Jr. would send him spinning from his sixth place running position.

Bill Hynes of Nazareth, Pennsylvania battling through a case of the flu would safely navigate the United Fiber & Data/ LIVE truck to a tenth place finish after encountering brake issues early in the event.

The rollover on Lap-7 for Erik Davis was just far too much for the Always Evolving truck as the damage acquired would force the truck to be towed off the racing service crediting Davis with the eleventh position.

Lodi, California driver Troy Deide would loose the handle on his Deide Construction truck going for the lead on Lap-2 making extensive contact with the outside wall. The damage to the front end was just too much to continue causing Deide to pull off the track and be scored in the twelfth position.

The second and final round of the SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks at the 2017 Grand Prix of Long Beach will take place Sunday at 4:05 PM PT just after the completion of the IndyCar Series event.

Fans can tune into the race by visiting https://stadiumsupertrucks.com or by viewing the Stadium SUPER Trucks Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/StadiumSuperTrucks

Matt Brabham WINS Race 2 At St. Petersburg

Matt Brabham

 

Round 5 St. Petersburg Race #2 – Official Results
Finish Start Truck No. Driver Laps Tire Points Bonus Running / Reason Out
1 1 83 Matt Brabham 7 Toyo Running
2 9 1 Sheldon Creed 7 Toyo Running
3 10 7 Robby Gordon 7 Toyo Running
4 6 25 Arie Luyendyk Jr 7 Toyo Running
5 7 98 PJ Jones 7 Toyo Running
6 2 55 Gavin Harlien 7 Toyo Running
7 8 67 Paul Morris 7 Toyo Running
8 4 50:1 Jeff Hoffman 7 Toyo Running
9 3 57 Bill Hynes 7 Toyo Running
10 5 75 Davey Hamilton Jr 7 Toyo Running

Overall Weekend Results:

1. Robby Gordon
2. Sheldon Creed
3. Paul Morris

Keegan Kincaid Wins Race #2 At The Grand Prix Of St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 13, 2016) – Keegan Kincaid captured the SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Presented by TRAXXAS race No. 2 at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Sunday, upstaging what was an amazing first race that took place Saturday.

The off-road racing specialist from Crandon, Wisc., led nearly the entire 8-lap race after inheriting the lead from SST newcomer Pleasant Hill, Calif., driver Pat O’Keefe on lap three.

Immediately following Kincaid to the front was yesterday’s podium finishers of Sheldon Creed of Alpine, Calif., and Tyler McQuarrie of Walnut Creek, Calif., as a tremendous three-car battle for the lead errupted.

After the competition caution flew Creed would drag race Kincaid on the restart into the first turn, briefly holding the lead. As the two teammates bumped and beat each other around the 14-turn 1.8 mi (2.9 km) temporary street circuit as McQuarrie would attempt to set them both up to be in position to make a pass for the lead. As the fight for the lead was heavy ninth place starter Matt Brabham in the United Fiber and Data No. 83 would work his way within a truck length of McQuarrie looking to join the fight.

As the two TRAXXAS trucks would start to pull away from McQuarrie and Brabham. The attention turned to the battle between the Saftecraft Safety Systems No. 6 and UFD/ Think Loud Investments No. 83, as the two would trade position corner after corner fighting hard for the third spot in a repeat of Saturday’s race.

Brabham would slip by McQuarrie, and look to set up a pass on Creed who missed his mark creating an opportunity for Brabham to use that to his advantage by driving the truck in hard and make the pass. But Brabham would loose the handle on his truck with the erratic maneuver spinning and loosing multiple positions taking him out of any contention of capturing a victory.

Kincaid go on to capture the victory over Creed, and McQuarrie who both visited the podium for the second straight day.

Norwell, Queensland, Australia driver Paul Morris would rebound his truck from mechanical issues the day before to get the United Fiber & Data backed entry to finish fourth, while fellow Queensland, Australia racer and UFD teammate Matt Brabham would gather himself back after his spin to round out the top five.

Making his first ever start this weekend in a Stadium SUPER Truck competition Dustin Scott of Inver Grove Heights, Minn., driving the Cobra Transportation Services No. 20 kept up with the pace of the lead pack for majority of the day until Brabham would steal a top-five finish away on the last lap.

United Fiber and Data/ LIVE driver Bill Hynes of Nazareth, Penn. would go on to finish the eight lap event in the seventh position ahead of SST newcomer Pat O’Keefe of Pleasant Hill, Calif., drive the SafeCraft Saftey Equipment TRAXXAS truck. Robby Gordon would experience a broken axle on Lap-6 and would limp his Arctic Cat Wildcat/ Toyo Tires/ TRAXXAS No. 7 home across the line in ninth. Augie Lerch of Tucson, Ariz. would also experience a broken axle early in the event taking the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil entry out of competition.

The overall standings over the two races would see Sheldon Creed capture the overall victory with his win on Saturday and runner-up performance on Sunday, Keegan Kincaid would claim second, and Tyler McQuarrie in the third spot.

The Stadium Super Trucks will move west for the Long Beach Grand Prix April 16-17 for rounds six and seven of the season-long SST World Championship. Creed and Jenner took rounds one through three respectively in Adelaide, Australia at the beginning of February in front of a capacity crowd of more than 200,000 enthusiastic Australians in attendance.

Advance ticket sales to Rounds 6 & 7 are available through the Grand Prix of Long Beach website at http://www.gplb.com/.

SST Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
March 13, 2016
SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks by TRAXXAS
Round 5 Results

1. Keegan Kincaid; No. 47; Crandon, Wisc.; TRAXXAS

2. Sheldon Creed; No. 1; Alpine, Calif.; TRAXXAS

3. Tyler McQuarrie; No. 83; Walnut Creek, Calif.; SafeCraft Saftey Equipment/ GoPro/ Golden Gate Petroleum

4. Paul Morris; No. 67; Norwell, Queensland, Aus.; United Fiber & Data/ LIVE/ Think Loud Development

5. Matt Brabham; No. 83; Gold Coast, Queensland, Aus.; United Fiber & Data/ LIVE/ Think Loud Development

6. Dustin Scott; No. 20; Inver Grove Heights, Minn.; Cobra Transportation Services/ Kraft Fitness/ KBC Graphix

7. Bill Hynes; No. 57; Nazareth, Penn.; United Fiber & Data/ LIVE/ Think Loud Development

8. Pat O’Keefe; Pleasant Hill , Calif.; SafeCraft Safety Equipment/ GoPro/ Golden Gate Petroleum

9. Robby Gordon; No. 7; Orange, Calif.; Arctic Cat/ SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires / TRAXXAS

10. Augie Lerch; No. 30; Tucson, Ariz.; Royal Purple Synthetic Oil

TRAXXAS Driver Sheldon Creed Wins Race 1 at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 12, 2016) – 2015 SST Champion Sheldon Creed ran away and hid from the field on the way to his third SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Presented by TRAXXAS victory of the young 2016 season at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Saturday.

Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia driver Matt Brabham driving the United Fiber and Data No. 83 and SST newcomer Tyler McQuarrie of Walnut Creek, Calif., in his SafeCraft Saftey Equipment TRAXXAS truck put on show of the 8-lap race battling side-by-side for the capacity crowd that lined the 14-turn 1.8 mi (2.9 km) temporary street circuit.

The two raced each other clean alternating positions for multiple laps. The battle for second was fierce, however no one was going to catch the 18-year old Alpine, Calif., native as he drifted corners smoking his Toyo Open Country A/T II tires the last few laps much to the delight of the roaring crowd en route to his 16 win of his SST career.

Brabham would beat McQuarrie to the line to finish second, while McQuarrie would capture his first podium in his first ever SST race.

Crandon, Wisc., driver Keegan Kincaid would rebound for a early race spin to regroup his TRAXXAS backed entry to finish fourth, while Orange, Calif., racer Robby Gordon rounded out the top five in his Arctic Cat Wildcat/ Toyo Tires/ SPEED Energy TRAXXAS truck.

Norwell, Queensland, Australia driver Paul Morris making his first SST start on North American soil would finish in the sixth position driving the No. 67 with United Fiber and Data/ Think Loud Development livery this weekend.

Augie Lerch of Tucson, Ariz., would show strong signs of competing for the win, battling for the lead early in the event with the quick pace McQuarrie and Brabham, but would spin his Royal Purple Synthetic Oil backed entry on Lap-7 loosing multiple positions and finishing in seventh.

Making his first Stadium SUPER Trucks start, and first ever race on asphalt Inver Grove Heights, Minn., driver Dustin Scott would run the Cobra Transportation Services No. 20 in third spot for three laps running a consistent conservative pace prior to spinning on his own. Scott would regroup at the half way caution to finish his first SST race in the eighth position.

United Fiber and Data/ LIVE driver Bill Hynes of Nazareth, Penn., would go on to finish the eight-lap event in the ninth position ahead of SST newcomer and early leader Pat O’Keefe of Pleasant Hill, Calif., driving the Safecraft Saftey Equipment/ Golden Gate Petroleum No. 14 truck.

The side-by-side battle between Brabham and McQuarrie was one for record books as it brought the already enthusiastic crowd to its feet, as many of the fans have never experienced the flying trucks in person. As Creed, Brabham, and McQuarrie conducted post-race interviews and signed autographs, fan after fan thanked the drivers from the exciting show they put on, many of them expressing that the SST race’s were the most enjoyable race of the 3-day weekend.

The second and final round of the SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Presented by TRAXXAS at the 2016 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will take place Sunday at 11:15 AM local time just prior to the green flag of the IndyCar Series season opening event.

SST Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

March 12, 2016

SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks by TRAXXAS

Race 1 Results

1. Sheldon Creed; No. 1; Alpine, Calif.; TRAXXAS

2. Matt Brabham; No. 83; Gold Coast, Queensland, Aus.; United Fiber & Data/ LIVE/ Think Loud Development

3. Tyler McQuarrie; No. 83; Walnut Creek, Calif.; SafeCraft Saftey Equipment/ GoPro/ Golden Gate Petroleum

4. Keegan Kincaid; No. 47; Crandon, Wisc.; TRAXXAS

5. Robby Gordon; No. 7; Orange, Calif.; Arctic Cat/ SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires / TRAXXAS

6. Paul Morris; No. 67; Norwell, Queensland, Aus.; United Fiber & Data/ LIVE/ Think Loud Development

7. Augie Lerch; No. 30; Tucson, Ariz.; Royal Purple Synthetic Oil

8. Dustin Scott; No. 20; Inver Grove Heights, Minn.; Cobra Transportation Services/ Kraft Fitness/ KBC Graphix

9. Bill Hynes; No. 57; Nazareth, Penn.; United Fiber & Data/ LIVE/ Think Loud Development

10. Pat O’Keefe; Pleasant Hill , Calif.; SafeCraft Safety Equipment/ GoPro/ Golden Gate Petroleum

2015 Australia & St. Petersburg NBC Sports Network Broadcast

The 2015 Stadium Super Trucks presented by Traxxas races from Australia & St. Petersburg will air on Saturday, May 23 at 2pm/et (11am/pt) on the NBC Sports Network.

2015_NBC_plug2_450

SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks Presented by TRAXXAS Returns to St. Petersburg Grand Prix for Two Races March 27-29

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (March 16, 2015) – Following a thrilling debut in 2014, the SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks Presented by TRAXXAS will return to the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg March 27-29 with two weekend races and a 30-minute practice session on Friday afternoon.

The two SST by Traxxas races are scheduled for March 28 at 3:30 p.m. and March 29 at 2:10 p.m. Both races lead directly into Verizon IndyCar activities, with the first race going green just before IndyCar qualifying and the second taking place before the season-opening IndyCar race. The SSTs will practice March 27 from 6:30-7 p.m.

The SST by Traxxas series opened its season with three races Feb. 27-March 1 in Adelaide, Australia with E.J. Viso winning the first race, and Traxxas-sponsored drivers Sheldon Creed and Keegan Kincaid taking the next two respectively. NASCAR and IndyCar veteran Robby Gordon finished second in all three events.

The Traxxas SST’s made their first visit to Florida in 2014 at St. Petersburg with series founder Gordon winning the first race in an amazing drive through a torrential rain storm and P.J. Jones edging Gordon for the win in race two that featured beautiful Florida sunshine.

Creed, Kincaid, Viso and Gordon will again battle at St. Petersburg and will be joined by Bill Hynes, Charles Dorrance, Scotty Steele, Apdaly Lopez and Burt Jenner, with one additional driver to be named.

Stadium Super Trucks by TRAXXAS Fact Sheet

•2015 is the third season of SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks by TRAXXAS.
•The first SST race was held at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 6, 2013 and was won by off-road racing veteran Rob MacCachren.
•The first event of the 2015 SST season featured three races in Adelaide, Australia with E.J. Viso, Sheldon Creed and Keegan Kincaid taking victories.
•The SST by Traxxas series will race with the Verizon IndyCar series four times in 2015, with St. Petersburg being the first of those events followed by the Long Beach Grand Prix, the Belle Isle Detroit Grand Prix and the Toronto Grand Prix.
•The SST by Traxxas series also races at venues including sites along the Las Vegas Strip, in stadiums and at purpose-built courses held in conjunction with large festival-style activities.
•The Stadium Super Trucks raced in Barbados in December 2014 as part of the International Race of Champions.
•The Stadium Super Trucks made their X Games debut with overwhelming popularity in 2014 and were featured live on ESPN and ABC.
•The SSTs are identically prepared 600 horsepower purpose-built race vehicles, modeled after their Traxxas radio control namesake.
•At every SST event, fans can test and purchase Traxxas RC cars and trucks at the Traxxas display. At ST. Petersburg, the Traxxas display and “Try Me Track” will be located at the north end of the property within the Bright House Network Speed Zone.
•Every SST truck competes on unmodified DOT-approved Toyo Tires. A fan can purchase the same Toyo A/T Open Country 35×12.5xR17 tires for their truck or SUV.
•The St. Petersburg Grand Prix SST race will be broadcast on NBCSN. Check local listings or www.stadiumsupertrucks.com for times and dates.
•All previous SST broadcasts are available for viewing online at www.stadiumsupertrucks.com.
•Various SST by Traxxas videos, which have generated more than 10 million views since Dec. 1, 2014, can be seen at www.facebook.com/stadiumsupertrucks.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

A limited number of media rides will be available with Robby Gordon and a second SST driver in two-seat Stadium Super Trucks on the Grand Prix circuit Thursday, March 26 at 2 p.m. Accredited media only are invited to attend and expressions of interest should be directed to Chris Hecht of Formula Off-Road (checht@stadiumsupertrucks.com). Due to time constraints, ride availability is limited and will be filled on a first-come first-served basis. Interview opportunities with Gordon are not confined to this schedule.

PJ Jones Wins Race #2 At The Grand Prix Of St. Petersburg

PJ Jones Wins Round 2 at St. Petersburg Grand Prix

SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas

 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 30, 2014) – PJ Jones captured Sunday’s thrilling second round of the SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas race at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, beating Robby Gordon to the line by a truck length.

Jerett Brooks, 16, finished third, making it the high-school student’s second-consecutive podium finish after coming home second in Saturday’s first race.

Jones, a veteran of IndyCar, USAC Silver Crown and Sprint Cars, started sixth and drove a calculated yet aggressive race to hold off Gordon and a full field of strong trucks.

“We had a really fast truck and kept our mistakes to a minimum, but you do make mistakes in these trucks,” said Jones, the winner of two of the last three Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas races.  “Robby and Jerett got racing each other behind me which helped, and I had to hold Robby off when he made a couple of late dives on me on that last lap.

“Best thing is that the crowd was really into it and people have been coming up to me all weekend saying how much they love the trucks and love watching them jump.  A lot of them said we were the reason they came here this weekend and can’t wait to see us race again.  The fans that didn’t know about us already are fans now, I’m sure.”

Following Saturday’s first race of the season, which had Gordon holding off Brooks and third-place finisher Justin Lofton in a driving rain storm, Jones considered Sunday’s victory redemption for a costly mistake on Saturday.  Racing in some of the worst conditions possible, Sunday’s race was a complete opposite with brilliant blue Florida skies and warm temperatures.

More than 75,000 spectators lined the 1.8-mile 14-turn road circuit to watch Jones and the Traxxas-branded trucks launch off of man-made ramps on the same DOT-approved Toyo Tires that consumers can buy.  The loud raucous cheers of disbelief from the massive crowd could be heard over the trucks as fans of traditional road racing saw the truck literally fly through the air side by side.

Saturday and Sunday’s races at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be broadcast on NBCSN April 17 at 1 a.m. EST and 10 p.m. PST. (April 16).

Round 3 of the SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas will be April 13 at the Long Beach Grand Prix in Southern California.  Tickets to the race are available through the Long Beach Grand Prix web site at www.gplb.com.

Race #2 Results:

1. PJ Jones
2. Robby Gordon
3. Jerett Brooks
4. Justin Lofton
5. Sheldon Creed
6. Scotty Steele
7. Gavin Harlien
8. Apdaly Lopez
9. Davey Hamilton


Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas

Fact Sheet

 

Track:                    Grand Prix of St. Petersburg circuit

Circuit Type:            Downtown temporary street circuit

Race Time:              Sunday, March 31, 2 p.m.

TV Schedule:           NBCSN, Thursday, April 18, 1 a.m. EDT

Track Layout:          1.8 mile, 14 turns

Defending Winner:    First event at St. Petersburg

Web Site:                www.stadiumsupertrucks.com

Twitter:                  @SSuperTrucks

SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas Readies for Season Debut at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (March 18, 2014) – A racing event the likes of which has never been seen anywhere near the Bay area will take place in conjunction with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg March 28-30.

Once synonymous with the open-wheel cars that will headline activities that weekend, former IndyCar and NASCAR star Robby Gordon is bringing the exciting world of off-road racing to street circuits such as St. Petersburg with his SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas series.

The Stadium Super Trucks that race in the series will hit huge man-made ramps at more than 100 mph at multiple locations throughout the picturesque street circuit hurling drivers nearly 20 feet in the air and 150 feet down course. Gordon created the series to bring the excitement of Baja-style desert racing to large crowds of race fans. The St. Petersburg Grand Prix begins the series’ second season.

Following street circuit races at Long Beach and Toronto in 2013, the Formula Off-Road Series and promoters from the St. Petersburg Grand Prix knew the SST trucks needed to be added in St. Petersburg after receiving fan reviews such as:
“The new Stadium Super Trucks put on an awesome show at the Long Beach Grand Prix. Watching the trucks brake into and fly around the corners on three wheels with the smell of burning rubber was really something…” and “That was freaking epic!!!! Best racing and the most fun I have had in a long time!!! So freakin’ cool. This stuff will be big and I’m not just drinking the kool-aid, trust me this was awesome.”

The series features identically prepared trucks which are made to resemble their scaled-down Traxxas radio-control-car counterparts. Like their Traxxas namesake the trucks are designed to take flight. However, unlike RC trucks, they produce 600 horsepower generating speeds upwards of 130 miles per hour.
“Fan reaction has been tremendous,” Gordon said. “Jimmie Johnson (six-time NASCAR champion), Casey Mears (NASCAR) and I all got our start driving trucks like these and we’ve reinvented the series and are bringing their former popularity back to the fans.”

Gordon himself is a seven-time SCORE International Off-Road Champion, a three-time winner of the Baja 1000 and a four-time winner of the Baja 500. For the last 10 years he has tackled the world’s most challenging off-road endurance race – the Dakar Rally – so he is an authority when it comes to off-road trucks.
“The goal is to provide equal equipment to all the drivers and let driver skill and not engineering budgets determine the winner,” Gordon continued. “This is what racing should be. The trucks are amazing but it’s about skill and not money that puts on a great show for the fans.

“When I was still racing in NASCAR people always asked me why I still drove off-road, and they were surprised when I told them that I raced in NASCAR so that I could race off-road. Off-road racing gets in your blood and it’s where I started. It has always been my first love and it’s the most unbelievable form of motorsport in the world and we’re trying to do our part to make it mainstream.”

As part of that objective Gordon founded the SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas series in late 2012, and ran its first race in March 2013 in Phoenix, Ariz. The series has built more than 20 identically prepared Stadium Super Trucks that have all the characteristics of an off-road “Baja-style” truck capable of racing on dirt, asphalt or even snow.

While the concept of building and maintaining an affordable racing series with an even playing field can be credited completely to Gordon, the theory behind the series is not entirely original. From the early 1980s through 1996 the Mickey Thompson Stadium Truck Series featured races in football and baseball stadiums primarily in the western United States.

“Not only is it one of the most awesome forms a racing in the world, for drivers and teams it’s about the most affordable professional racing series you can be involved with,” Gordon said. “In 2014 we will race in front of something like 750,000 people, have eight hours of exposure on NBC Sports Network and will race live on ESPN at X Games Austin.”

The franchise format created for the Stadium Super Trucks makes business sense for drivers and marketers knowing that they don’t have to outspend other teams to be competitive. Each week the series builds, maintains and delivers race-ready trucks to competitors which eliminates start-up costs and day-to-day overhead of running a team. A driver’s focus is on winning races and delivering for their sponsors.

“I loved my time in IndyCar and NASCAR but it costs a lot of money to be competitive in either one of those series which means a lot of capable drivers have some fairly difficult barriers to entry,” Gordon said. “Those series will continue to thrive based on many years of success and a proven business plan and incredible fan support. What we have created is an opportunity for drivers to race in front of hundreds of thousands of fans and a tremendous platform for sponsors.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Robby Gordon and one of his two-seat Stadium Super Trucks will be available on the Grand Prix circuit for media rides and demonstrations Thursday, March 27 from 4-4:30 p.m. Accredited media only are invited to attend and expressions of interest should be directed to Chris Hecht of Formula Off-Road (checht@teamgordon.com) or Kathleen Stelmach (kathleen@torchiacom.com) of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Due to time constraints, ride availability is limited and will be filled on a first-come first-served basis. Interview opportunities with Gordon are not confined to this schedule.

Media Contact: Chris Hecht, Formula Off-Road

704-949-1255 checht@stadiumsupertrucks.com

ABOUT SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas

Influenced by the former Mickey Thompson Stadium Off-Road Racing Series, where driver’s such as Gordon, Casey Mears and six-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson got their start, Gordon created Stadium SUPER Trucks to capitalize on the public’s overwhelming interest in trucks and SUVs as well as the fact that the majority of automotive aftermarket parts are marketed for trucks. Keep up with all the latest news of SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas and Stadium SUPER Trucks by liking us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/StadiumSuperTrucks as well as following on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SSuperTrucks. For more information visit https://stadiumsupertrucks.com.

SST St. Petersburg Tickets Now Available

Tickets are now available for the March 29 & March 30 St. Petersburg SST races. Please visit gpstpete.com for all ticket information.weekendSTPETECONDENSED